Somaliland : Poll Delay, Crisis or process? Panel Discussion

Somalilandsun – Presidential and parliamentary elections in Somaliland, scheduled to take place on the 26th June 2015, have been postponed for at least 17 months following delays in voter registration processes. As occurred in the previous election, the President’s term has been extended amid criticism from opposition parties and the international community. Scheduled to coincide with the planned elections, this panel will question the extent to which these election delays mark a political crisis in Somaliland, or rather are constitutive of developing processes of democratisation in the country. Panelists will address the practical, political and economic causes and consequences of the delay, and reflect on its impact on Somaliland nation-state building, and political stability across the wider region.